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Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Want to know a surefire way to make sure a health complaint isn't something serious?

Go to a doctor and tell him you think it's something serious.

Or, if you really want to be sure? Go to the ER.

Works every time.

Take, for example, my recent stomach woes. They had been going on for about a month and slowly getting worse. I had tried a litany of medicines, and cutting a number of things from my diet, but nothing seemed to work. My stomach hurt, my back hurt, and it felt like nothing in my digestive tract was working properly. I walked around all day with a look on my face suggesting I had just smelled sour milk, or been told Sarah Palin was up for a Nobel Prize. If I ate, the pains got worse. If I drank, the pains got worse. If I moved around a lot, the pains got worse. Luckily, the moving thing doesn't happen that much, and slowly I stopped really taking anything in besides Pepto.

My Mom was convinced it was my gall bladder.

Ryan was worried it was my pancreas.

Tara said it was the crazies. Oh, and then she said I probably had a wheat allergy, because she's mean.

Meg just wanted to know why the milk was sour.

I called doctors. The earliest anyone could see me was July. I made an appointment and decided I could stick it out. Then the pain stopped being annoying to being disruptive. Yesterday I came home from work trying to convince myself I had a stomach bug Ryan had been carrying around. By mid-afternoon I knew it wasn't. By six last night I had agreed to go with my Mom to the ER this morning, and had called work to tell them I wasn't coming.

This morning I woke up feeling pretty good. Still a little sore, but better. I called my Mom to tell her I was not going. She reminded me that I had felt better before, and it had gotten worse.

So, I went.

Four different people asked me about my symptoms. They felt my stomach. They took my vitals. They drew blood. They took other fluids. They did an ultrasound.

They found nothing.

My blood work was fine.

My gall bladder looked "perfect."

I started to cry because nothing was wrong with me. I am still not sure if they were tears of joy, or frustration.

At least they didn't say it was the crazies.

The doctor thinks it could be all of the supplements I have been taking. Or maybe a bad reaction to a medication. He also says he can't be sure. I am supposed to stop taking everything not absolutely necessary and see what happens. He might have a point. When I woke up this morning, feeling better, I had taken a single pill in more than 48 hours.

13
comments:

Just the act of going makes you feel better. I'm convinced that's why kids act so squirrelly at the doctor. So sick they are dying at home, pull into the doctor's parking lot and pure crazy is unleashed.

Oh my god - I have been feeling just the same!!! I can email my doc and last week he put me on prilosec. The burning belly pain is better and the nausea is gone, but my intestines ache. I am being seen tomorrow - thinking it is gall bladder or worse. Maybe I should go to the ER . . .

That is frustrating! My sister has been around and around with doctors and specialists due to ongoing stomach/digestion issues. There are so many crazy tests they can run. They still haven't figured out her issue. I hope you feel better really soon!

If everyone who reads this cannot totally relate to your situation, then they are not of this planet. All people and things are broken until the repair-person comes and then it/they work fine. It is always a very expensive remedy.

This ALWAYS happens to me, only when I'm sure it's a big deal, it's not. When I put it off, it's something that makes "them" look at me like, "Um dumb ass, why did you WAIT so long to come in???" I hate them when they say that. But, I almost hate them more when it's something that I thought was major that turns out to be nothing. I can hear them call me a drama queen then.

Oh, you poor love. I have had unexplained stomach pains for long periods of time before, too. And then one day, they go away. What the hell? I hope stripping away the supplements will yield some answers. Feel better, dear.

Agreeing with Michon here -- this really does sound like a gluten thing. It's not a death sentence if you're sensitive to it -- there are so many alternatives now, they make absolutely everything in gluten-free versions. Also, I had a friend who had tons of stomach problems for years and doctors told her nothing was wrong with her until finally a gastroenterologist figured out it was something called the sphincter of odie. Maybe you should see a gastro doctor!